Swiss Police Discover Cause of Bitsch Forest Fire

A year after a devastating fire ravaged the Swiss mountains in Valais, police have released their findings on the cause of the disaster. The report reveals a series of events that started with a gunshot and ended with 132 hectares of forest being burned.

The Fire in Valais: A Timeline

On July 17, 2023, at 5 PM, emergency services in Switzerland responded to a significant forest fire in the Bitsch area, Canton Valais. The fire brigade quickly ordered an evacuation as flames spread through the mountains and hillsides. Hundreds of residents from the town of Oberried had to flee their homes. Despite continuous water bombings from the Swiss Army and Air Zermatt, it took weeks to fully extinguish the blaze. Ultimately, 132 hectares of forest, equivalent to 160 football fields, were destroyed. Fortunately, all homes were saved, and no casualties were reported.

Investigating the 2023 Bitsch Forest Fire

One year later, the Cantonal Police in Valais published the results of their investigation into the forest fire, one of the worst in Switzerland in recent years. Officials stated that they had ruled out natural causes such as solar radiation or lightning strikes, concluding that the fire was human-caused and likely deliberate.

The investigation revealed that shortly before the fire, a local energy plant near Bitsch reported an outage due to a severed conductor cable. According to the report, an unknown person had deliberately shot the main line’s conductor cables multiple times with a long gun in the Flesche area.

How a Gunshot Led to the Fire

Police found that a bullet had pierced the copper wire of the branch line at a mast, creating a short circuit. The resulting overheating caused the conductor cable to break and fall to the ground.

When the cable fell, workers at the power plant, following standard procedures, switched the cable back on to identify the fault. This surge of electricity melted the cable on the ground and ignited the dry vegetation around it. The region was experiencing a severe drought, which allowed the small fire to quickly escalate into a major blaze.

Appeal for Witnesses

The public prosecutor in Valais, along with the cantonal police, is still seeking witnesses to the incident. Anyone with information about the forest fire is urged to contact the authorities at 027 326 56 56.